1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to development of machines in the field of mechatronics, such as a robot mechanism for nondestructive aging evaluation of a cable and, more particularly, to a robot mechanism that can automatically measure an aged state of a cable and establish a database based on the evaluation result to evaluate a replacement time.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, aging of a cable is directly detected by an operator using a portable cable aging tester which employs a personal digital assistant (PDA). However, since the portable cable aging tester is manually operated by the operator for direct measurement of the aged state of the cable, a significant measurement time is required and measured values vary depending on proficiency of the operator as the number of measurement points increases.
Further, when the cable undergoes changes in local shape and hardness due to exposure to the environment for long durations, the measured values can also vary depending on the measurement points for the same cable, such that repetitious measurement at several measurement points for a single cable is required for accurate aging evaluation of the cable.
Currently, these problems make it difficult to commercialize the portable cable aging tester which is a non-destructive aging tester for cables.
Thus, to solve such problems, it is necessary to achieve reduction in measurement time, enhancement of accuracy and efficiency in measurement, establishment of database through evaluation of many measurement points, and the like.
When establishing an evaluation database of cable aging by measuring a number of points on the cable within a short period of time at low cost, all of these procedures must be automatically performed. However, since studies have mainly focused on development of a nondestructive aging evaluation method, development of an automatic inspection method and an inspection method for various specimens is unsatisfactory in the art.
This invention aims at enhancement in measurement accuracy and repetitious characteristics, reduction in operation time, and improvement in operation efficiency of an aging tester by enabling automatic measurement of a variety of cables within a short period of time through application of the aging tester to a transfer robot mechanism.
[Reference Document]
Jong-seuk Kim, “A Study on Evaluation of Cable Aging through Instrumental Indentation Test,” Thesis for the Degree of Engineering Doctor, Chungnam University, 2004.